Monthly Archives: August 2011

Post navigation

PBS today announced its newest educational app for iPad, LITTLE PIM SPANISH, is now available on the App Store. Adding to its successful PBS KIDS mobile app lineup, the new curriculum-based app helps children acquire Spanish language vocabulary while playing games with Little Pim, an animated panda bear who is the star of the direct-to-DVD LITTLE PIM language series.

“We know from research that the early years in a child’s development are an ideal time to introduce a foreign language, so it was important to us to create a language learning app for preschool-age kids,” said Lesli Rotenberg, Senior Vice President, Children’s Media, PBS. “LITTLE PIM SPANISH was designed specifically to introduce the Spanish language to young kids at this stage, when their brains are the most receptive to the sounds of different languages.”

“LITTLE PIM SPANISH is our first Spanish language learning app, which is something that parents have been asking us to develop,” said Jason Seiken, Senior Vice President, Interactive, Product Development, and Innovation, PBS. “Our PBS KIDS apps have been downloaded more than one million times to date, and we expect that number to continue to grow with the introduction of this new app that we know is
so in demand.”

LITTLE PIM SPANISH is based on LITTLE PIM, an award-winning foreign-language teaching DVD series. The app helps young children develop basic Spanish vocabulary through three interactive games: “Eating and Drinking,” “Playtime” and “Wake up Smiling.” With three levels of play in each game, the app introduces a total of 60 vocabulary words, including nouns, verbs and short phrases. At each level, the game presents vocabulary words and phrases both visually and aurally, then provides activities that help players acquire the vocabulary, and lastly validates and reinforces newly acquired knowledge.

LITTLE PIM SPANISH is the latest addition to the PBS KIDS lineup of educational mobile content, joining other successful apps such as the PBS KIDS Video for iPad App and the SUPER WHY App. With a transmedia approach, PBS KIDS is increasingly serving children wherever they live, learn, and play — through mobile devices, as well as on TV, online, in the classroom, and through a new line of educational
toys.

About LITTLE PIM
LITTLE PIM is the award-winning language direct-to-DVD series that makes it easy and fun to introduce young children to a foreign language at the age when they learn best. Using the Entertainment Immersion MethodTM, LITTLE PIM uses a combination of live action segments with animation of Little Pim the panda, the series’ lovable teacher. The method’s strategic use of repetition and building blocks of vocabulary guide young children through an easy, fun way to learn their first concepts in a second language. LITTLE PIM was designed specifically for babies, toddlers and preschoolers. Research proves that children who learn a second language also tend to have stronger verbal, cognitive and analytical skills. LITTLE PIM was developed by Julia Pimsleur Levine, daughter of the renowned language teaching pioneer, Dr. Paul Pimsleur, in consultation with Dr. April Benasich, a leading neuroscientist.

KLRU has again partnered with Austin Public Library’s Windsor Park Branch and ITVS’ Independent Lens for monthly Community Cinema film screenings and discussions. The events take place the first Tuesday of each month at 7 pm at Windsor Park Branch Library located at 5833 Westminster Dr. Austin, TX 78723. This years films are:

September
Peace Unveiled
When the U.S. troop surge was announced in late 2009, women in Afghanistan knew that the ground was being laid for peace talks with the Taliban. Peace Unveiled follows three women who immediately began to organize to make sure that women have a seat at the negotiating table. One is a savvy parliamentarian who participated in writing the Afghan constitution that guarantees equality for women; another, a former midwife who is one of the last women’s rights advocates alive in Kandahar; and the third, a young activist who lives in a traditional family in Kabul. Convinced that the Taliban will have demands that jeopardize women’s hard-earned gains, they maneuver against formidable odds to have their voices heard in a peace jirga and high peace council. We go behind Kabul’s closed doors as the women’s case is made to U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry, U.S. Ambassador-at-Large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Verveer, General David Petraeus and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who promises the women that “peace and justice can’t come at the cost of women and women’s lives.” But will this promise be kept? Narrated by Tilda Swinton.

October
Deaf Jam
Aneta Brodski, a deaf teen living in New York City, discovers the power of American Sign Language poetry. As she prepares to be one of the first deaf poets to compete in a spoken-word slam, her journey leads to an unexpected collaboration.

November
We Still Live Here (Âs Nutayuneân)
The Wampanoag nation of southeastern Massachusetts ensured the survival of the first English settlers in America, and lived to regret it. AS NUTAYUNEAN – We Still Live Here tells the story of the return of the Wampanoag language, the first time a language with no Native speakers has been revived in this country. Spurred on by an indomitable linguist named Jessie Little Doe, the Wampanoag are bringing their language and their culture back.

December
Lioness
How did five female Army support soldiers–mechanics, supply clerks and engineers–end up fighting alongside the Marines in some of the bloodiest counterinsurgency battles of the Iraq War? Directors Meg McLagan and Daria Sommers give an intimate look at war through the eyes of the first women in U.S. history sent into direct ground combat, despite a policy that bans them from doing so. Through harrowing personal stories, these women candidly share their experiences in Iraq as well as from their lives back home to form a portrait of the emotional and psychological effects of war.

January
Daisy Bates: First Lady of Little Rock
As a black woman who was a feminist before the term was invented, Daisy Bates refused to accept her assigned place in society. The life of Daisy Bates tells the story of her life and public support of nine black students to attend the all-white Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas, which culminated in a constitutional crisis–pitting a president against a governor and a community against itself.

February
More Than a Month
Shukree Hassan Tilghman, a 29-year-old African American filmmaker, is on a cross-country campaign to end Black History Month. Through this tongue-in-cheek journey, MORE THAN A MONTH investigates what the treatment of history tells us about race and equality in a “post-racial” America.

March
Revenge of the Electric Car
Filmmaker Chris Paine takes his film crew behind the closed doors of Nissan, GM, and the Silicon Valley start-up Tesla Motors to chronicle the story of the global resurgence of electric cars. Without using a single drop of foreign oil, this new generation of car is America’s future: fast, furious, and cleaner than ever.

April
Hell and Back Again
What does it mean to lead men in war? What does it mean to come home – injured physically and psychologically – and build a new life? HELL AND BACK AGAIN that asks and answers these questions with the conflict in Afghanistan as the backdrop. Two overlapping narratives intercut: the life of a Marine on the war front, and the life of the same Marine in recovery at home – creating a realistic depiction of how Marines experience this war.

May
Strong!
A formidable figure, standing at 5’8″ and weighing over 300 pounds, Cheryl Haworth struggles to defend her champion status as her lifetime weightlifting career inches towards its inevitable end. STRONG! chronicles her journey and the challenges this unusual elite athlete faces, exploring popular notions of power, strength, beauty and health.

KLRU is proudly sponsoring this year’s CASA Superhero Run. SuperWhy and Princess Presto characters from the PBS Kids series SuperWhy will be at the race, which takes place on Sunday, September 25, at The Domain, 11410 Century Oaks Terrace. Register today at casatravis.org

Because “every child needs a hero, but abused children need superheroes,” CASA hosted their annual 5K, the CASA Superhero Run, complete with a chip-timed 5K race, Kids 1K and many chances for our participants to become their own superhero. The CASA Superhero Run raises money to help ensure that someday every child in Travis County who needs their own superhero will have one! Register today at casatravis.org

Folk legend John Sebastian remembers the very best of the folk years on John Sebastian Presents: Folk Rewind (My Music) 7 p.m. Sunday.

Country pop legends unite to perform their biggest and most-loved hit recordings from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s on Country Pop Legends (My Music) 9 p.m. Sunday.

Experience Barbra Streisand up-close-and-personal at the historic Village Vanguard on One Night Only at the Village 11 p.m. Sunday.

Join Patti Page and Nick Clooney 8:30 p.m. Monday as they co-host all new performances and archival classics from the vault with legends of the late 50s and early 60s pop era on Moments to Remember (My Music).

Greatest Duets: It Takes Two features a collection of music videos and TV performances by superstar artist pairings such as Marvin Gaye and Tammi Terrell, Elton John and Kiki Dee, Aretha Franklin and George Michael, and many more 7 p.m. Tuesday.

Carole King – James Taylor Live at the Troubador features an entire performance from the extraordinary 2007 Troubadour Reunion in Los Angeles 8:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Grand Canyon Serenade presents a breathtaking portrait of the Grand Canyon region set to the tunes of some of the most beloved classical music composers 10 p.m. Tuesday.

Nova “Smartest Machine On Earth” Wednesday at 7 p.m. takes viewers inside an IBM lab where a crack team has been working for nearly three years to perfect a machine that can answer any question on Jeopardy!

From the Beatles’ American television debut to the Doors’ infamous one-time-only appearance to the Rolling Stones, Ed Sullivan’s Rock and Roll Classics – The 60s features music performances on The Ed Sullivan Show from 1963-1968 that represent the free spirit of the decade’s youth movement 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Chet hosts the best moments of the Austin Daytripper and gives details on daytripping with him to Lockhart and Luling at 7 p.m. Thursday.

Rock and pop legends Jon (Sha Na Na) “Bowzer” Bauman and Ronnie Spector (of the Ronettes) bring back the best songs from the late 1950s and early 1960’s rock, pop and doo wop era in a My Music concert event at 8:30 p.m. Thursday.

Hosted by Noel Paul Stookey of Peter, Paul & Mary, Legends of Folk: The Village Scene celebrates the folk era in Greenwich Village in the 1960s 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Add and Loving It?! 10 p.m. Friday features actor Patrick McKenna and co-host Rick Green talking to researchers, specialists and doctors to get straight facts about ADD and ADHD.

See how to extend summer vegetables and get ready for fall crops on Central Texas Gardner noon Saturday. On tour, visit East Side Cafe, where organic gardens inspire daily recipes.

If you’ve already given a gift or shared why you love KLRU this August, thank you for your support! In just one week, you have helped raised $90,000 towards our goal of $240,000! We’re not done yet – tonight and Saturday we’ll be live in the KLRU studios with really exciting programs and thank you gifts!

Tonight is our regular Friday public affairs line up starting at 6pm with PBS Newshour, Washington Week at 7pm and Need to Know at 7:30pm. If you call in to support any of our public affairs programs you’ll be entered in a drawing to win season tickets to our engaging speaker series, Spark at the Moody.

Following public affairs at 8:30pm is American Masters: Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides, an incredible portrait of the life, career, and creative journey of a very talented actor, artist and musician. Jeff Bridges just taped his Austin City Limits performance this week (airing in November), and we’ll be giving away his signed, limited edition posters and also tickets to the Big Lebowski quote-a-long at the Alamo Drafthouse this month – you’ll have to watch to win, so don’t forget to tune in!

The highlight of Saturday afternoon is 90 minutes of Central Texas Gardener starting at 4pm. We’ll be live in the studio with all the CTG folks who are eager to hear from the garden-lovers out there. We have a great fall preview show lined up (read more about it at the CTG blog!), a special gift package to give away from Eastside Cafe, Go Local Austin businesses answering the phones, and an exclusive behind-the-scenes experience for fans to see an actual taping of a CTG episode! It’ll be CTG-super-sized and not to be missed!

Stick around KLRU into the evening for the next live pledge event: Austin City Limits, Season 37 Preview. See next season’s performances and backstage interviews before anyone else does! And if you’re a fan of Arcade Fire, you will have an opportunity to receive tickets to their ACL taping in September – tickets will go fast, so don’t miss your chance! Give now and watch the preview tomorrow for more ACL goodies!

BIG NEWS! Dinosaur Train “Dinosaur Big City”

One-hour special premieres August 22 at 9:30 a.m.!

Big dinosaurs, big musical numbers and big fun are on the ticket when Dinosaur Train launches its second season with the one-hour special “Dinosaur Big City” premiering August 22 on PBS KIDS. Buddy and the Pteranodon family gather all their Theropod friends together to travel to the big Theropod Club Convention which is being held in Laramidia, the “Dinosaur Big City!” Among the travelers is King Cryolophosaurus, who’s more than a little nervous about giving a concert in front of his biggest audience ever. Can Buddy and Tiny help him overcome his fear of performing?

Big dinosaurs, big musical numbers and big fun are on the ticket when Dinosaur Train launches its second season with the one-hour special “Dinosaur Big City” premiering August 22 on PBS KIDS. Buddy and the Pteranodon family gather all their Theropod friends together to travel to the big Theropod Club Convention which is being held in Laramidia, the “Dinosaur Big City!” Among the travelers is King Cryolophosaurus, who’s more than a little nervous about giving a concert in front of his biggest audience ever. Can Buddy and Tiny help him overcome his fear of performing?

If you were among the hundreds this weekend who donated to support our August pledge drive, Thank You! In total we raised $47,000 towards our goal of $240,000. We are 17% through the drive, and we are 19% of the way to our goal. If you have yet to give, help us keep the momentum going by contributing to our fundraising effort.

Our #whyKLRU campaign is also picking up steam. We want to hear why you choose KLRU by logging on to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, or the KLRU blog, to answer the question: Why KLRU? Here is a sample of some of the messages we received over the weekend:

Why KLRU? Whether you watch Sesame Street every morning with your kids, enjoy the drama of Masterpiece on Sunday evenings, or get gardening advice from Central Texas Gardener, you probably have your own answer to the question: Why KLRU?

In the next 17 days, KLRU needs to raise $240,000 to provide the PBS programs and local productions required to answer the needs of 1.7 million people in Central Texas.

We’ve also created a series of videos, starring your friends and neighbors, asking them to answer the question: Why KLRU? We hope the videos inspire you to let us know your reason, and inspire you to support our work with a donation.

In October 2010 the legendary musical Les Miserables celebrated its 25th birthday. To mark the occasion, the show’s producer Cameron Mackintosh staged an extraordinary one-off concert at the O2 Arena in London. This concert airs at 6 p.m. Sunday.

Suze Orman’s Money Class provides powerful, timely and often surprising advice for saving and investing, building a career, planning for retirement and more 10 p.m. Sunday and 8:30 p.m. Wednesday.

Popular artists from the ’50s and ’60s perform at the Malt Shop Memories Concert 7 p.m. Monday.

Country pop legends unite to perform their biggest and most-loved hit recordings from the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s on Country Pop Legends 9 p.m. Monday.

In 1961 more than 400 black and white Americans risked their lives, their safety, and their freedom for simply traveling together on buses and trains through the Deep South. Freedom Riders: Behind the Scenes 10:30 p.m. Tuesday tells the harrowing but ultimately inspirational story of six months in 1961 that changed America forever.

With extraordinary footage and interviews with researchers, Echo: An Elephant to Remember takes a look back at the elephant matriarch who was the subject of many Nature films and led a carefully studied herd of elephants in Africa 7 p.m. Wednesday.

Each week, retirees from Georgetown, TX, give heartfelt thank-yous to soldiers reporting for duty at Fort Hood. Operation Appreciation at 10:30 p.m. Wednesday follows the volunteers as they collect baked goods made by people in the community to distribute at the Army base.

Peter, Paul and Mary: Carry It On: A Musical Legacy 7 p.m. Thursday features rare archival performances by the Greenwich Village trio who embodied the nation’s cultural and political ethos during the 1960s.

Folk legend John Sebastian remembers the very best of the folk years on John Sebastian Presents: Folk Rewind 9 p.m. Thursday and 7 p.m. Sunday.

Jeff Bridges has created original and memorable characters in notable films since he burst onto the silver screen in 1971. American Masters profiles the actor on Jeff Bridges: The Dude Abides at 8:30 p.m. Friday.

Jeff Beck and his special guests play tribute to the legendary Les Paul 10:30 p.m. on Friday. Backed by the Imelda May band, with special guests Brian Setzer, Gary U.S. Bonds & Trombone Shorty.

Meet author Cheryl Hazeltine for lessons she’s learned on Central Texas Gardener at noon Saturday. On tour, visit a garden makeover designed with innovation on a budget.

Austin City Limits Season Preview at 7 p.m. Saturday gives Austin viewers a sneak peek at the new episodes of the legendary music program, which begin airing in October.

The Ed Sullivan Comedy Special 10:30 p.m. Saturday brings back the original stars that defined the history of comedy for 23 years on the Ed Sullivan Comedy Show. The special includes classic bits from Jack Benny, Bob Hope, George Carlin, Richard Pryor, Joan Rivers, Alan King, Jack Paar, and many more.

Spark, KLRU’s Engaging Speaker Series, is back and has a new home at the downtown Moody Theater. Exploring some of the most relevant questions of our time, Spark @ The Moody takes a thoughtful look at health care, politics, education and more. With a focus on innovative thinkers from Austin and beyond the series is more than just a presentation of concepts — it’s a search for real solutions in our community. Each event includes a lively dialogue with experts followed by an opportunity for audience questions. Get your Spark series subscription today